Conventionally garment bags are provided with a support for luggage-type hangers that include a rail carried by a support adjacent the top wall of the garment bag. The rail receives the notched necks of luggage-type hangers which have pivotal hook elements that lock the hangers to the rail. The disadvantage of this is that it requires the clothes to be transferred from their normal hangers to the special luggage-type hangers when the garment bag is to be packed. Also, the luggage-type hangers do not have the contour of many ordinary hangers used in supporting garments in a closet, nor do they have locking elements for holding trousers to the crossbar of the hanger. Conventional garment hangers cannot be used with the rail of such garment bags because there is no means for confining these hangers and holding them in position.
It has been proposed, as disclosed in U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,363,388 and Re 31,075, to provide a garment bag support which includes a pivotal element with a notched pad to receive the hook portions of ordinary hangers. When in a latched position, the hook portions of the hangers are confined and cannot escape the notches. The garment bag support lacks versatility, however because it requires the use of conventional hangers and will not permit luggage-type hangers to be employed. The latter type of hanger may be preferred in certain instances because it is flat and thin, enabling a maximum number of garments to be packed within a garment bag.
Thus, the prior art lacked a truly universal versatile garment bag hanger supporting arrangement.